


Relearning

by Canadiantardis



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Gen, Human Trafficking, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Underage Prostitution, Might have pairings dont know yet, Rape Aftermath, Sexual Slavery, ace family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-04
Updated: 2015-09-25
Packaged: 2018-04-17 06:58:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4656990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canadiantardis/pseuds/Canadiantardis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mattie, a former child prostitute, gets another chance at normalcy, but because he had been sold into slavery when he was three, normalcy is a little hard.</p><p>//DISCONTINUED//</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Safe

Mattie saw the sun for the first time in ages. It hurt his eyes and felt like pain to him. He saw the grass and it felt soft. He saw the men around him, and he felt fear for the smallest second before remembering.

 _You’re safe. They won’t do anything like what_ they _did to you._ He tried to comfort himself and jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder.

He twisted around, shrinking back on instinct.

“Are you alright, lad?” His accent was funny, but his eyes were full of an emotion Mattie had never seen before. Then again, he never saw many different emotions besides lust and anger.

“Why are your eyebrows so close together?” He asked curiously, cocking his head to the side and forgetting what had him worried in the first place.

“Hm? I’m concerned, boy. You looked frightened for a long time I was afraid something was happening to you.” The policeman, Mattie thought his name was Artie, said, his face still full of that emotion Mattie couldn’t understand.

“Concern? What’s that?” He asked and the man’s eyebrows, which were abnormally large, raised slightly.

“You… You don’t know what concern is, boy?” Mattie shook his head, feeling dumb. “Hmph, well, it’s an emotion that… I guess it would be that I care about you and you make me worry.” Artie gestured his hands uselessly as he tried to think of the right words.

Mattie nodded, thinking he understood.

“Now, we should get out of here. We’ll finally have you be away from this horrid place forever. Those men will never touch you or any other child again.”

Mattie nodded again, his lips twitching up in an attempt to smile. But it hurt his cheeks as he had never smiled naturally since he had been a toddler if he had to guess.

Artie gently placed his hand on Mattie’s shoulder again and guided him to the flashing cars. He was helped into the back and Artie and his partner took their seats and they drove off, leaving the whorehouse behind.

Chapter done!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short first chapter, but here is another story I thought up. I actually got the idea while on my way to Otakuthon back in early August. I had been thinking about my In a Cage fic, and wondered what it would be like to return to trying to have a normal life after being forced into this kinda thing for most of someone's life.  
> It's not final, but there might or might not be Prucan, or side pairings. If you want Prucan or another ship, you can always tell me, I'm up for suggestions.  
> Also, with school starting again, you might not see many updates, or updates in stories as often. I'm going to be trying to write and update as often as I can, but for now stories are gunna be put on hold.


	2. Kumajiro

“What do you mean they won’t take him back? They’re his bloody parents!” Arthur hissed, trying not to yell as the poor boy was in the next room and would most likely be able to hear. “I don’t care what they said, they are his parents and they have a duty as parents to bring him up.”

But the next words made his blood run cold.

“They fucking _sold him_?! Nevermind, I’m not handing that poor boy over to assholes who sell their child for a few extra bucks to a lifetime of sexual slavery!” He fumed and later hung up, taking deep breaths.

_No wonder that boy was so bewildered by everything. He hadn’t seen anything normal since he was a toddler. The poor lad._ He thought as he looked through the window at Matthew, who was dozing in an upright position. It looked painful but Matthew didn’t seem to feel the pain.

Arthur thought quickly. _He has to go somewhere where he has a chance to live normally again. But who would take a seventeen year old?_

With a sigh, Arthur had an idea and opened the door to where Matthew dozed before he could back out.

Softly, to not scare the boy, he tapped his shoulder and the lad woke with a start. He stared wild eyes around him before he focused on Arthur and he slowly relaxed, but his head cocked to the side in confusion.

“Lad, I have a question to ask you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mattie stared outside the car window the entire ride with wide eyes, trying to drink in the scenery that was passing too fast for him.

It was late at night and he sat beside the policeman Artie, in his car and not the flashing cars all policemen seemed to have.

“You’ll be meeting a boy your age when you get home. He looks like you, you know. Although, I’m starting to think you’ll be very different from Alfred.” Artie said as they turned a corner to a quieter street. “But you don’t need to worry. He’s harmless and more like a curious puppy than anything else. If he ever does something that makes you uncomfortable, just tell him and he’ll back off.”

Mattie nodded as they turned to a driveway of a house. In the darkening light, it looked big, but friendly. It had lights on the inside and the front porch light was on as well. It was warm light that reminded Mattie of a baby memory that was all but forgotten.

“C’mon lad, let’s get you acquainted with Alfred.” Artie said, getting out of the car and going around to help Mattie. “Are you sure you had nothing else of yours?”

Mattie looked down at his arms at the ratty old stuffed bear he had had since he was a baby and shook his head, clutching the bear tightly to his chest. He still remembered when the bear had been his height, but now it would only come up to his knees.

“Kumajiro is my only thing that’s mine.” He whispered.

Artie gave him a look before nodding and helped Mattie to the front door.

“Al? Alfred, can you come here, please?” Artie called into the house when he closed the front door.

Suddenly Mattie heard loud thumps coming from upstairs and then pounding of feet on the stairs and saw a teen with bright blond hair and piercing blue eyes. For a moment he was frightened of the teen, but when the teen saw him, he stopped with a surprised look on his face.

“Woah, he looks like me when I was a kid! Who is he?” He asked, and Mattie winced. The teen had a very loud voice, as if he was used to shouting every day.

“I thought you were listening when I talked to you over the phone.” Artie sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “This is Matthew Williams. Because of his parents, he’s been through hell and back, and I’m not making them keep him. I’m his guardian for now until he’s of age and then he’ll decide where he wants to go.”

“Oh, okay.” The teen looked over Mattie again before stepping up to him, sticking out his hand to him. “I’m Alfred. Nice to meet ya, Matthew.”

“Um, hi.” Mattie murmured as he took the hand.

“Can you show Matthew the guest room, Al? I’m going to order dinner. Pizza. What do you two want?” Artie asked.

“Pepperoni, of course!” Alfred said, wrapping an arm around Mattie’s shoulders suddenly. He squeaked and pulled away, taking several steps away from Alfred. “Huh?”

“Don’t do stupid things like that, Alfred. No sudden grabbing, don’t go into his personal space unless he allows it. He’s not one of your friends, he’s still unused to everything.”

“What happened to him?” Alfred asked curiously.

“I’ll tell you after dinner.” Artie said, walking to a closed door. “Matthew, follow Alfred to where you’ll be sleeping. I’ll be up in a bit to tell you when dinner’s ready.”

Mattie nodded uncertainly, but followed Alfred up the stairs until they reached the second floor. There were four rooms, and Alfred showed him his room, the one closest to the stairs.

“So, mine is right next to the bathroom, right across from you. Dad’s is right next to you. Don’t be shy to shout to one of us in the night.” Alfred said, showing the other rooms. “Now where’s your stuff?”

Mattie held up Kumajojo, and Alfred did the strangest thing. He laughed.

“No really, where’s your things? Should I help bring them up?” He asked after he stopped laughing.

“This is it.” Mattie frowned slightly. “I never had anything belonging to me besides this. Not even my clothes belonged to me.”

_Not that I ever stayed in my clothes most days._ He thought bluntly.

“Why would you only have a ratty teddy bear? What do you mean, you didn’t even own the clothes?” Alfred asked, looking confused.

Mattie shifted, unsure how to say it. He didn’t want to talk about what he had to do, he wanted to forget it altogether, but the look Alfred gave him made him want to tell him.

He stuttered for a couple minutes, trying to figure out what to say when he heard the doorbell and jumped. It was a pleasant sound compared to the harsh single note he heard and dreaded.

“Boys, dinner’s ready!” Artie called and Mattie all but fled the room, desperate to get away from the questions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, Alfred, you want to know about Matthew, I can tell. But he’s not telling you anything?” Arthur guessed and nodded sagely when Alfred gave a grumpy nod.

It was very late at night and Arthur made sure Matthew was fast asleep before going to Alfred’s room to talk to him.

“Matthew had been a prostitute since he was a toddler, basically. We learned he was sold by his parents when he was around three or so, and had been through who knows what.” Arthur said bluntly.

Alfred’s eyes grew to the size of saucers as he gaped at his father. “No fucking way.”

“Language.” Arthur sighed. “And yes, this is what happened to him. I’m just surprised we caught him and saved him in time. You will have to help him adjust, Alfred. I want him to at least see what being a normal teen is like while he still has time to be a teen and child.”

“But I have school tomorrow.” Alfred said.

“He’ll be going with you. I talked to the school before leaving work, and they said as long as he has a visitor’s pass and sticks to you, he’ll be okay for the first couple days. I’m going to register him for the rest of the school year, and hopefully we can get someone to help him when you aren’t around.”

“Are you sure he’s ready for a whole building full of annoying teens, Dad?” Alfred crossed his arms. “He can’t handle being touched, what happens when he’s surrounded by students walking to their lockers?”

“He’ll be fine. Just watch over him, Alfred.” Arthur sighed. “Now, if we want to get any rest, I believe we should sleep now.”

He left his son’s room and flopped on his bed, just about to fall into dreams when a loud scream echoed from the other side of the wall.

He bolted up and looked around wildly before realizing it was from the guest room. He dashed to Matthew’s door and swung it open to see Matthew twisting and crying in his sleep. He hurried over to the teen and put a calming hand on his forehead and the boy instantly relaxed. His breathing was still coming in fast before it slowed to an even rhythm. Arthur kept his hand on the boy’s forehead before sliding his hand up into his hair, brushing it lightly and calmly.

He saw Matthew start to shudder again and he hummed to the boy, a simple tune he used to sing to Alfred when he was younger.

It was going to be a long night.

Chapter done!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alfred is very much like a giant puppy. Have you met the guy? He's like a giant, loud, adorable puppy that's curious about everything.  
> Mattie going to school for the first time should be interesting, won't it?


	3. Friends?

Mattie was terrified, and could tell Alfred knew.

They had just gotten on a large yellow car Alfred called a ‘school bus’ and it was crammed with shouting teens of all ages, which made Mattie tense and freeze where he stood until Alfred coaxed him to sit by the window beside him.

“Don’t worry, dude. I’ll be with you all day. If you see me start to worry, then you can worry.” Alfred told him, visibly trying to comfort him without touching him. “It’ll be fine.”

Mattie nodded shakily, shrinking in on himself as the noise in the bus grew louder.

He heard Alfred sigh before something was thrust into his face, making him cross eyed for a moment.

They looked like ear plugs, but with cords winding down until it reached Alfred’s phone.

“Okay, dude, listen to some music. I have tons of different music on here, so you can listen to legit anything.” He paused. “Just don’t have it too loud, the earphones might burst.”

Mattie nodded and took the earphones and phone, looking through what Alfred said was his music. There was a lot, but Mattie just wanted something calming, and found something that sounded nice, a soundtrack for something that looked cool. He couldn’t read very well, but some words looked familiar so he guessed.

He listened to the music, and was glad to know his guess was right. It was pretty calming music for him, and Mattie closed his eyes, letting the music take him wherever.

He was startled out of his rest when Alfred tapped him lightly on the shoulder, and Mattie looked at him, surprised to see him standing up. It was then that he realized the bus had stopped moving.

Taking out the earphones, Mattie looked up at Alfred.

“We’re here. C’mon, we should get going into the school.” Alfred said with a calming smile.

Mattie stood up and followed Alfred off the bus, keeping close to the only person he recognized when he was assaulted by noise of other teenagers and adults around and in the large building. He had never gone to a school, and it was massive in his opinion.

“Okay, so you have to stick with me the entire day, I told my friends already and a few actually want to meet you. Are you okay with that?” Alfred asked, looking at Mattie carefully.

Mattie thought about it, before nodding slowly. He was intrigued about what these friends were like. Maybe they were going to be like his friends he had in that house.

* * *

 

They were not like his friends at all.

They were all the same age, and seemed to have the same loudness Alfred had. They scared Mattie if he was honest.

“Who’s this? This the kid you were talking about?” One asked, his voice much louder than Alfred’s with strange gravity defying hair and a large smile on his face. He stuck his hand out in Mattie’s face, startling him. “I’m Mathias!”

Before Mattie could respond, another teen whacked the louder one on the back of the head with a large book. He jerked forward, into Mattie’s space and Mattie jumped several feet away. While the louder one whined, the one who hit him looked bored.

“It’s too early to be so loud, you idiot.” He said before looking at Mattie, suddenly looking curious. “Sorry about that. He’s annoying so it’s best to hit him with a tome. I’m Lukas.”

“Aw, Lukas, why are you so mean?” Alfred laughed, and Mattie frowned, wondering why it was funny. It looked like it hurt.

“I don’t have to explain myself to you.” Lukas commented, turning back to Mattie. “What’s your name, kid?”

Mattie bit his lip hard, afraid to speak. The small group of Alfred's friends huddled closer, much to Mattie’s anxiety. He was afraid he was going to do something when Alfred called to his friends.

“Hey, hey, give him space. I told you guys that already. He doesn’t like his space invaded like that.” Alfred said, and the group took a step back. “And his name is Mattie. I thought I told you already.”

“Oh, sorry.” Lukas apologized and went back to reading from the large book.

The other friends, besides the loud friend that was still whining to Lukas, all introduced each other. There were so many names, Mattie knew he was going to mix them up. They were all guys, with very strange names. Kiku, Feliciano, Ludwig, Carlos, Tino and Emil.

There was a sudden loud ringing, and Mattie clapped his hands to his ears. Alfred stuck with him as all the others suddenly left.

“Time for class. C’mon, first period is English.” Alfred said, taking a piece of Mattie’s shirt sleeve and tugging gently.

Chapter done!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any of you who say Alfred isn't caring about other people's feelings... No, just no. He is canonically very smart, just deciding to not always sound and act like it.  
> I'm trying, I really am, but university is really messing up everything. It's a lot more intense than college ever was and I'm just feeling drained.  
> I'll try to write chapters over the weekend, and space them out, but the main word is 'try' as I have to be inspired to write and not get writers block.


End file.
